Kenley Ward
Dailysports's expert
Torino
Cremonese
On February 20, Stadio Olimpico di Torino (Turin) will host the match of the 23rd round of the Serie A, in which Torino will compete with Cremonese. The battle will start at 20:45 CET.
Torino
The team is now reaching the level, which is always expected by the fans. It goes without saying that the higher mentioned result is a considerable merit of Ivan Jurić. Before his arrival, the ambitious “Bull” “had rolled” down to the 17th place. The previous season, which was the first for the Croatian specialist in Turin, gave an opportunity to gain a foothold in the middle of the standings. Moreover, the club actually stays in the European Cup zone nowadays. To tell the truth, there was a defeat in the previous round, but it is worth remembering that the team lost to Milan, having conceded the only goal scored by the champion in the 62nd minute – experienced Giroud made a result. Generally speaking, “the Maroons” show good results in the winter, and one of the reasons is that Aleksey Miranchuk got into shape and scored up. The Russian player has already scored 4 goals in this Calcio, and he, along with another summer newcomer, Vlašić, tops the list of the team scorers.
Cremonese
The club actually has a decade and a half of performance at the Serie A level. But, having relegated in the 90s, only now, for the first time in three decades, “the Tigers” have got the opportunity to return to the elite division. They seemed to be powerful in the previous season and even took the second place, which gave a ticket to the Serie A. At the same time, their mentor, Pecchia, left the project for Parma. Being without him, it was impossible to win either under the rule of Alvini or the new coach, Ballardini. It goes without saying that Davide has already achieved two loud sensations, but both in the Coppa Italia – there the outsider knocked out Napoli and Roma, which resulted in the semi-final. Still, are those victories important, taking into account that there are 0 wins and 8 points in the championship? Moreover, the winter part of the tournament brought only 1 draw in 7 matches – the other matches were lost. It’s okay to be defeated by Inter and Napoli, but, being headed by the current coach, the team lost to Lecce with a home 0-2 score.
The statistics of head-to-head matches
The matches with Cremonese are not easy for Torino. In 2021, the underdog was defeated in the Coppa Italia, playing in the minority, only in a penalty shoot-out. In August, “the Bull” achieved an away 2-1 victory.
Predictions
Bookmakers do not expect any surprises in the following battle. Let's agree: the stronger team plays at home – thus, we are waiting for the victory of Torino (odd: 1.7).
